‘He would do my head in’: Former England player says he would struggle to play with £190k-a-week Liverpool ace

Add as preferred source on Google

Former England international Dean Ashton has said he would hate to play alongside Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

Taking to talkSPORT, the former West Ham striker claimed he wouldn’t enjoy the 32-year-old’s constant leadership in the midfield.

“He would do my head in, to play with him,” Ashton said.

“We had great seats, and we were right there, he was absolutely screaming at Phil Foden and at times, both good and bad, but if you didn’t quite close down enough, he screamed at him. When he did close down, it was so loud like okay yeah, I’m doing it.

“But I guess that’s what he brings doesn’t he. He brings that intensity; he brings that level of competitiveness all of the time and I think sometimes we can lack that. You know, with that slowness he’s the one that’s trying to lift everybody to get them going.

“I probably wouldn’t enjoy playing with him because of that, but it’s great to watch and I like to see it from an England player. He’s got that real passion that he doesn’t want this to settle, he doesn’t like this tempo and he’s trying to gee the lads up.”

Ashton speaks about Henderson’s leadership

Despite all the criticism he has faced, the one thing you cannot say about Henderson is that he’s not a good leader.

He is the exemplary captain. On and off the pitch, he brings the squad together.

The midfielder is integral to communication whilst on the field, as demonstrated for England last night. His constant shouting meant the side kept their shape really well, and his positional sense within the middle was also integral to this.

When compared with Gareth Southgate’s skipper, Harry Kane, there is a huge difference in leadership. This is truly noticeable when Henderson is on the pitch, and the team always mention it afterwards, claiming how vital it is to their success.

It’s likely that certain players wouldn’t like the constant communication, like Ashton says, having played for England once. However, it appears everyone in the Three Lions setup, as well as the Liverpool squad, seem to value it highly.

Therefore, although it’s difficult as he’s not a guaranteed starter, the £190,000-a-week man should really be England captain.